A Polish priest has warned parents to be on their guard against Lego, warning the plastic blocks are a tool of Satan and can "destroy" children's souls.

In a presentation aimed at parents, Father Slawomir Kostrzewa said the popular Danish toy company had taken a lurch to the dark side with its series of Monster Fighters and Zombie mini-figures, and that they "were about darkness and the world of death".

"Friendly fellows have been replaced by dark monsters," he explained. "These toys can have a negative effect on children. They can destroy their souls and lead them to the dark side."

Lego's Monster Fighters range features Lord Vampyre, a fanged Dracula-like character, who battles the likes of Doctor Rodney Rathbone and Major Quinton Steele as they try to prevent him from "cloaking the world in darkness".

The priest also cited research by New Zealand's University of Canterbury that found the facial expressions of Lego figures have also become angrier over the years, and that this compounded their evil potential.

"Facial expressions may be lead to confusion between good and evil," said Father Kostrzewa. "It appears the good suffer in battle and the 'villains' have a face showing satisfaction with their evil deeds."

But the claims that Lego blocks are becoming the work of the devil was dismissed by at least one expert.

"These are just blocks," retorted Monika Filipowska, a psychologist interviewed by the Super Express newspaper. "Linking them to Satan is just wrong, and all that will happen is that children will be afraid of them now."

Father Kostrzewa's attack on Lego is not the first time he has accused toys of harbouring evil. Hello Kitty and My Little Pony have also come under his scrutiny, with the latter being described as a "carrier of death".

That's preposterous! LEGO is in no way associated with darkness and evil, it's been a great toy both for fun and for encouraging little minds to think big and be creative. Many an engineer (self included) credits playing with LEGO as kickstarting their successful careers.

Hello Kitty and MLP, on the other hand: those toys have the devil's fingerprints all over them.

^ true, but every so often someone from a religious organization will say something like this for real (Jabbas palace?), so this is perfectly plausible. But I do think this one is a product of Legoboys imagination!

The only evil thing about Lego is when you step on it. You have searing pain and a near death experience. In a few cases some have had a tragic death stepping on a Lego. Special precautions have to take place after on has stepped on a 2x2 translucent piece. Most people have to have their foot amputated after stepping on a Lego. That why Lego is the devil.

(All fun and games. Lego is not the devil and the best toy in the world)

^ true, but every so often someone from a religious organization will say something like this for real (Jabbas palace?), so this is perfectly plausible. But I do think this one is a product of Legoboys imagination!

Well, seeing @scrumper‌'s comment, I'm not so sure any more! Maybe they are putting a bit of truth into their joke to make it more believable?

Ok I'm going to go there.. If zombies are Satanic why did Jesus raise the dead and himself? Doesn't that make Christianity based on the teaching of a zombie? =)

Well, if you assume anyone coming back from the dead must be a zombie you'd be right, but the Bible's description of people Jesus raised doesn't sound like zombies, and Jesus after the resurrection is certainly not a zombie.Jesus raised people whole, not still half dead. And Jesus was raised glorious, more than before, described in 1 Corinthians 15 as the firstfruits of the resurrection to come, and seen in spectacular detail in Revelation 1.

In short, you're right about Jesus rising from the dead being central to Christianity, but you've made a bit of a false assumption as to what the result of that is.

(I hope I've not just answered a joke question with a serious response, but apart from flagging up that it was a risqué topic it seemed a serious question.)

^ I was hoping that the smiley face would have given away the sarcasm but I guess not, so you did in fact answer a joke question with a serious response. I am familiar with what the bible says and what is meant by it.

^ I was hoping that the smiley face would have given away the sarcasm but I guess not, so you did in fact answer a joke question with a serious response. I am familiar with what the bible says and what is meant by it.

Aww well, you mentioned an elephant in the room so maybe I've made it funnier by throwing myself into an elephant trap! :P

The whole article is a bit strange, as there are things which point to it being an April fools (the date and subject matter - ie, MF has been EOL for a while now), and things which point to it not being (the fact that at least part of it is true).

Maybe Father Przwski (or whatever his name was) just published this late so he can claim it was his article that made Lego stop selling MF? (Like the Turkish dudes said about Jabba's Palace)